Columbia River
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2008-07-12T11:44:31Z
R.steenhard
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/* External links */
{{Geobox | River
<!-- *** Heading *** -->
| name = Columbia River
| other_name =
| category =
<!-- *** Image *** -->
| image = Corps-engineers-archives bonneville dam looking east.jpg
| image_size = 300
| image_caption = Bonneville Dam, in the Columbia River Gorge
<!-- *** Name *** -->
| etymology =
| nickname =
<!-- *** Country etc. *** -->
| country = Canada
| country1 = United States
| state = Washington
| state1 = Oregon
| region = British Columbia
| region_type = Provinces
| district =
| commune =
| municipality =
<!-- *** Family *** -->
| parent =
| tributary_left = Kootenay River
| tributary_left1 = Pend Oreille River
| tributary_left2 = Spokane River
| tributary_left3 = Snake River
| tributary_left4 = [[Deschutes River (Oregon)|Deschutes River]]
| tributary_left5 = Willamette River
| tributary_right = Kettle River
| tributary_right1 = Sanpoil River
| tributary_right2 = Okanogan River
| tributary_right3 = Yakima River
| tributary_right4 = Cowlitz River
| city = [[Revelstoke, British Columbia|Revelstoke, BC]]
| city1 = [[Tri-Cities, Washington|Tri-Cities, WA]]
| city2 = [[Portland, Oregon|Portland, OR]]
| city3 = [[Vancouver, Washington|Vancouver, WA]]
| landmark =
<!-- *** Locations *** -->
| source = Columbia Lake
| source_location = British Columbia
| source_country = Canada
| source_elevation_imperial = 2690
| source_elevation_note =<ref>{{cite web | last = Marsh | first = James | title = Columbia River |work= The Canadian Encyclopedia | publisher = Historica Foundation | date = 1999 | url = http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001777 | accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref>
| source_lat_d = 50
| source_lat_m = 13
| source_lat_NS = N
| source_long_d = 115
| source_long_m = 51
| source_long_EW = W
| source_coordinates_note =<ref>{{cite web | title = Columbia Lake |work= Canadian Geographical Names Data Base | publisher = Natural Resources Canada | date = 2008 | url = http://geonames2.nrcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/v9/sima_unique_v9?english?JATIP?C | accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref>
| mouth = Pacific Ocean
| mouth_elevation_imperial = 0
| mouth_lat_d = 46
| mouth_lat_m = 14
| mouth_lat_s = 39
| mouth_lat_NS = N
| mouth_long_d = 124
| mouth_long_m = 3
| mouth_long_s = 29
| mouth_long_EW = W
| mouth_coordinates_note =<ref>{{cite web | title = Columbia River | work = [[Geographic Names Information System]] | publisher = [[United States Geological Survey]] | date = [[November 28]], [[1980]] | url = {{Gnis3|1140014}} | accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref>
<!-- *** Dimensions *** -->
| length_imperial = 1243
| length_note =<ref>{{cite web | title = River Overview | publisher = Columbia River Keeper | date = 2000–04 | url = http://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/intro.htm | accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref>
| width_imperial =
| depth_imperial =
| watershed_imperial = 258000
| discharge_imperial = 265000
| discharge_note =<ref name = "USGSrivers"/><ref>{{cite web | last = Kimbrough | first = R.A. | coauthors = Ruppert, G.P.; Wiggins, W.D.; Smith, R.R.; Kresch, D.L. |work = Water Resources Data-Washington Water Year 2005| title = Water Data Report WA-05-1: Klickitat and White Salmon River Basins and the Columbia River from Kennewick to Bonneville Dam | publisher = United States Geological Survey | date = 2006 | url = http://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/2005/wdr-wa-05-1/pdf/wa00103ADR2005_Figure66.pdf | accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref><ref>Identical data in: {{cite book|last = Loy|first = William G.|coauthors = Stuart Allan, Aileen R. Buckley, James E. Meecham|title = Atlas of Oregon|publisher = University of Oregon Press|date= 2001|pages = 164–165|id = ISBN 0-87114-102-7 }}</ref>
| discharge_location = mouth
| discharge_max_imperial = 1240000
| discharge_min_imperial = 12100
<!-- *** Free fields *** -->
| free =
<!-- *** Maps *** -->
| map = Columbiarivermap.png
| map_caption = Columbia River watershed
| map_locator =
<!-- *** Websites *** -->
| commons =
| statistics =
| website =
<!-- *** Footnotes *** -->
| footnotes =
<!-- Processed by Geoboxer 3.0 on 2008-01-24T04:31:36+01:00 --> }}
The '''Columbia River''' (known as '''Wimahl''' or '''Big River''' to the [[Chinookan|Chinook]]-speaking natives who live on its lowermost reaches)<ref name="HistLinkGray">{{cite web
| last = Oldham
| first = Kit
| title = Captain Robert Gray becomes the first non-Indian navigator to enter the Columbia River, which he later names, on May 11, 1792.
| work = The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
| publisher = History Ink
| date = [[January 13]], [[2003]]
| url = http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5051
| accessdate = 2008-04-01 }}
</ref> is the largest [[river]] in the [[Pacific Northwest]] region of [[North America]]. It is named after the ''[[Columbia Rediviva]]'', the first ship from the [[western world]] known to have traveled up the river.<ref>{{cite book | last = Loy | first = William G. | coauthors = Stuart Allan, Aileen R. Buckley, James E. Meecham | title = Atlas of Oregon | publisher = University of Oregon Press | date= 2001 | pages = 24 | id = ISBN 0-87114-102-7 }}</ref> It stretches from the [[Canadian province]] of [[British Columbia]] through the [[U.S. state]] of [[Washington]], forming much of the border between Washington and [[Oregon]] before emptying into the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The river is {{convert|1243|mi|km|}} long, and its drainage basin is {{convert|258000|sqmi|km2}}.
Measured by the volume of its flow, the Columbia is the largest river flowing into the Pacific from North America and is the fourth-largest river in the United States. The river's heavy flow, and its large elevation drop over a relatively short distance, give it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. It is the largest [[hydroelectric power]] producing river in North America with [[Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River|fourteen hydroelectric dams]] in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]].
The Columbia and its tributaries are home to numerous [[anadromous]] fish, which migrate between small fresh water tributaries of the river and the Pacific Ocean. These fish—especially the various species of [[salmon]]—have been a vital part of the river's ecology and the local economy for thousands of years.
The taming of the river for human use, and the industrial waste that resulted in some cases, have come into conflict with ecological conservation numerous times since Americans and Europeans began to settle the area in the 18th century. This "harnessing", as it was commonly described in the popular culture of the early 20th century, included dredging for navigation by larger ships, [[nuclear power]] generation and [[nuclear weapon]]s research and production, and the construction of dams for power generation, irrigation, navigation, and flood control.
== Drainage basin ==
With an average annual flow of about {{convert|265|kcuft/s}},<ref name="USGSrivers">{{cite web
|first=J.C.
|last=Kammerer
|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/
|title=Largest Rivers in the United States
|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey
|date=May 1990
|accessdate=2008-04-01
}}</ref> the Columbia is the largest river by volume flowing into the Pacific from [[North America]]<ref>{{cite web
|title=Legend and Legacy: Fifty Years of Defense Production at the Hanford Site
|first=Michele
|last=Gerber
|date=1992
|url=http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/Website/Resources/Curriculum/Cold%20War/Documents/52.html
|publisher=University of Washington Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest
|accessdate=2008-01-26}}</ref> and is the fourth-largest by volume in the United States.<ref name="USGSrivers"/> Ranked by size of drainage basin and length, the Columbia is sixth- and twelfth-largest in the U.S., respectively.<ref name="USGSrivers"/><!--what's its ranking in Canada? in BC?--> The Columbia's highest recorded flow, measured at [[The Dalles, Oregon]], was {{convert|1.24|Mcuft/s}} in June 1894.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/Hydropower.asp
|title=Columbia River History: Hydropower
|publisher= Northwest Power and Conservation Council
|date=
|accessdate=2008-04-02
}}</ref> The river flows {{convert|1243|mi|km}} from its headwaters to the Pacific and drains an area of about {{convert|260000|sqmi|km2}}.<ref name=encarta>{{cite web |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559975/Columbia_(river_North_America).html
|title=Columbia (river, North America)
|work= Encarta Online Encyclopedia
|publisher= Microsoft
|date=2007
|accessdate=2008-04-02
}}</ref> The river's drainage basin covers nearly all of [[Idaho]], large portions of British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington, and small portions of several neighboring states. Roughly 85 percent of the drainage basin and {{convert|745|mi|km|-1}} of the river's length are in the United States.<ref name=ccrh-hist>{{cite web |last = Lang | first = Bill |url=http://www.ccrh.org/river/history.htm
|title= Columbia River
|work=
|publisher= Center for Columbia River History
|date=2008
|accessdate=2008-04-02
}}</ref>
[[Columbia Lake]], elevation {{convert|2690|ft|m|}} and the adjoining [[Columbia Wetlands]] form the Columbia’s [[headwaters]] in the southern [[Rocky Mountain Trench]], a broad, deep and very long [[glacial valley]] running between the [[Canadian Rockies]] and [[Columbia Mountains]] in British Columbia (the province derives its name, [[Columbia District|indirectly]], from the river). For its first {{convert|200|mi|km|}}, the Columbia flows northwest along the Trench through [[Windermere Lake (British Columbia)|Windermere Lake]] and the town of [[Invermere, British Columbia|Invermere]], a region known in British Columbia <!--so much easier to say B.C.--> as the [[Columbia Valley]] then northwest to [[Golden, British Columbia|Golden]] and into [[Kinbasket Lake]]. Rounding the northern end of the [[Selkirk Mountains]],, the river then turns sharply south through a region known as the [[Big Bend Country]], passing through [[Revelstoke Lake]] and the [[Arrow Lakes]]; Revelstoke, the Big Bend and the Columbia Valley combined are referred to in BC parlance as the [[Columbia Country]]. Below the Arrow Lakes, the Columbia passes the cities of [[Castlegar, British Columbia|Castlegar]], located at the Columbia's confluence with the lower [[Kootenay River]], and [[Trail, British Columbia|Trail]], two major centres of the [[West Kootenay]] region. The [[Pend Oreille River]] joins the Columbia about {{convert|2|mi|0}} north of the U.S.–Canada border.<ref name=encarta/><ref name=lrdwc_bc>{{cite web
|title=Land and Data Resource Warehouse Catalogue
|publisher=Government of British Columbia
|year= 2007
|accessdate= 2008-04-02
|url=http://maps.gov.bc.ca/imf50/imf.jsp?site=lrdw_catalog_ext
}}</ref>
[[Image:Roll On Columbia.png|left|thumb|Course of the Columbia River]]
The Columbia enters [[eastern Washington]] flowing southwest. It marks the southern and eastern borders of the [[Colville Indian Reservation]] and the western border of the [[Spokane Indian Reservation]]<ref name=colvillehealth>{{cite web
|last= Kowalski
|first= Peter
|coauthors = Kaplan, Brian; Karus, Greg
|title=Health consultation
|url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/pha/colville/cct_p1.html
|work=Colville Federated Tribes
|publisher=[[United States Department of Health and Human Services]]
|date=[[2001-03-07]]
|accessdate=2007-11-08
}}</ref> before turning south and then southeasterly near the confluence with the [[Wenatchee River]] in central Washington. This C-shaped segment of the river is also known as the "Big Bend". During the [[Missoula Floods]], 10,000 to 15,000 years ago, much of the floodwaters took a more direct route south, forming the [[Grand Coulee]]. After the floods, the river found its present course, and the Grand Coulee was left dry. The construction of the [[Grand Coulee Dam]] in the mid-20th century backed the river up into the dry [[coulee]], forming the [[reservoir]] of [[Banks Lake]].<ref name=basinproj>{{cite web
|last = Simonds
|first = William Joe
|title=Columbia Basin Project: Research on Historic Reclamation Projects (Second Draft)
|publisher=Bureau of Reclamation History Program, Denver, Colorado
|year=1998
|accessdate=2008-03-09
|url=http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/projects/washington/columbiabasin/history.html
}}</ref>
The river flows past [[The Gorge Amphitheatre]], a prominent concert venue in the Northwest, and then past the [[Hanford Site|Hanford Nuclear Reservation]]. The [[Snake River]] joins the Columbia in the [[Tri-Cities, Washington|Tri-Cities]] area. [[Hanford Reach]], a section of the Columbia between [[Priest Rapids Dam]] and the Tri-Cities, is the only American stretch of the river that is free-flowing, unimpeded by dams, and not a tidal [[estuary]]. The Columbia makes a sharp bend to the west at the Washington–Oregon border. The river defines that border for the final {{convert|309|mi|km|}} of its journey.<ref>{{cite web
|title= Oregon's Publicly-Owned Waterways
|work = Public Ownership of Submerged and Submersible Land
|publisher= Oregon Department of State Lands
|year=
|accessdate= 2008-03-09
|url= http://www.oregon.gov/DSL/NAV/navigwaterways.shtml
}}</ref>
Between The Dalles and [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], the river cuts through the [[Cascade Range|Cascade Mountains]], forming the dramatic [[Columbia River Gorge]]. Along with the [[Klamath River]] in southern Oregon and the [[Pit River]] in northern [[California]], the Columbia is one of only three rivers to pass through the Cascades. The gorge is known for its strong and steady winds, scenic beauty, and its role as an important transportation link.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/
|publisher=USDA Forest Service
|accessdate=2007-12-07
}}</ref>
The river continues west, bending sharply to the north-northwest between Portland and [[Vancouver, Washington]], at the river's [[Confluence (geography)|confluence]] with the [[Willamette River]]. Here the river slows considerably, dropping sediment that might otherwise form a [[river delta]]. The Columbia empties into the Pacific Ocean just past [[Astoria, Oregon]], over the [[Columbia Bar]], a shifting [[sandbar]] that makes the river's mouth one of the most hazardous stretches of water to navigate in the world.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Columbia pilot pay attracts port’s eye
|first=Ben
|last=Jacklet
|url=http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=26722
|work=[[Portland Tribune]]
|date=[[October 19]][[2004]]
|accessdate=2007-06-14}}</ref>
{{clear}}
== Geology ==
[[Image:Drum-Heller-Channels.jpg|thumb|right|[[Drumheller Channels]], part of the [[channeled scablands]] formed by the [[Missoula Floods]]]]
{{seealso|Geology of the Pacific Northwest|Missoula Floods}}
Volcanic activity in the region has been traced to 40 million years ago, in the [[Eocene]] era, forming much of the landscape traversed by the Columbia. In the [[Pleistocene]] era (the last ice age, two million to 700,000 years ago), the river broke through the [[Cascade Range]], forming the [[Columbia River Gorge]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=The Geologic History of the Columbia River Gorge
|date = 2001
|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Washington/ColumbiaRiver/geo_history_gorge.html
|publisher=[[USGS]]
|accessdate = 2008-04-02
}}</ref>
The river and [[Columbia Basin|its drainage basin]] experienced some of the world’s greatest known floods toward the end of the last [[ice age]]. The periodic rupturing of ice dams at [[Glacial Lake Missoula]] resulted in discharge rates ten times the combined flow of all the rivers of the world, as many as forty times over a thousand-year period.<ref>{{cite web | title = Glacial Lake Missoula and the Missoula Floods | publisher =U.S. Geological Survey | url = http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Glaciers/IceSheets/description_lake_missoula.html | accessdate = 2006-11-19}}</ref>
[[Image:ColumbiaRGorgePano.jpg|thumb|left|Columbia River Gorge from Dog Mountain, Washington]]
Water levels during the [[Missoula Floods]] have been estimated at {{convert|1250|ft|m|}} at the [[Wallula Gap]], {{convert|830|ft|m}} at [[Bonneville Dam]], and {{convert|400|ft|m}} over modern [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], [[Oregon]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Houck | first = Michael C. | coauthors = Cody, M.J. | title = Wild in the City | publisher = Oregon Historical Society | date= 2000 | id = ISBN 0-87595-273-9}}</ref> The floods' periodic inundation of the lower [[Columbia River Plateau]] deposited rich lake sediments, establishing the fertility that supports extensive agriculture in the modern era. They also formed many unusual geological features, such as the [[channeled scablands]] of eastern Washington.
The river was blocked by the collapse of a mountain on the north side of the Columbia River Gorge, likely a result of the [[1700 Cascadia earthquake|Cascadia earthquake]] in 1700, in an event known as the ''[[Bridge of the Gods (geologic event)|Bonneville Slide]]''. The resulting land bridge blocked the river until rising waters tunneled through and finally washed away the sediment. In 1980, the [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens|eruption of Mount St. Helens]] deposited large amounts of sediment in the lower Columbia, temporarily reducing the depth of the shipping channel by {{convert|25|ft|m}}
== Indigenous peoples ==
[[Image:Chief Joseph.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Chief Joseph]] of the [[Nez Perce]] people]]
Humans have inhabited the Columbia River Basin for more than 15,000 years, with a transition to a sedentary lifestyle based mainly on salmon starting about 3,500 years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last = National Research Council (U.S.) |title= Managing The Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals, and Salmon Survival |year= 2004 |publisher= National Academies Press |isbn= 0309091551 |pages= p. 18 |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=uXF5b6syTQ8C |accessdate = 2008-04-03 }} URL is to the [[Google Book Search]] version.</ref> In 1962, archaeologists found evidence of human activity dating back 11,230 years at the [[Marmes Rockshelter]], near the confluence of the [[Palouse River|Palouse]] and [[Snake River|Snake]] rivers in eastern Washington. In 1996, the skeletal remains of a 9,000-year-old prehistoric man (dubbed [[Kennewick Man]]) were found near [[Kennewick, Washington]]. The discovery rekindled debate in the scientific community over the origins of human habitation in [[North America]] and sparked a protracted controversy over whether the scientific or [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] community was entitled to possess and/or study the remains.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Who Were The First Americans?
|work=Time
|publisher=Time, Inc.
|date=[[March 13]][[2006]]
|first=Michael D.
|last=Lemonick
|coauthors=Dorfman, Andrea; Cray, Dan
|url=http://0-docs.newsbank.com.catalog.multcolib.org/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AMNP:TMGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1102CD856FF60BB0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
|accessdate = 2008-04-03
}}</ref>
Numerous different [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] and [[First Nations]] tribes have a historical and continuing presence on the Columbia. The [[Sinixt]] or Lakes people lived on the lower stretch of the Canadian portion (also claimed as part of [[Okanagan people|Okanagan]] territory) the [[Secwepemc]], [[Ktunaxa]] and at one time the [[Tsuu Tina|Blackfoot]] on the upper; the [[Colville (tribe)|Colville]], [[Spokane (tribe)|Spokane]], [[Yakama]], [[Nez Perce]], [[Umatilla (tribe)|Umatilla]], and the [[Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs]] live along the U.S. stretch. Along the upper Snake River and [[Salmon River (Idaho)|Salmon River]], the [[Shoshone]] [[Bannock (tribe)|Bannock]] Tribes are present. Near the lower Columbia River, the [[Cowlitz (tribe)|Cowlitz]] and [[Chinookan|Chinook]] tribes, which are not [[Federally recognized tribes|federally recognized]], are present. The Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Warm Springs tribes all have treaty fishing rights along the Columbia and its tributaries.
Perhaps a century before Europeans began to explore the Pacific Northwest, the Bonneville Slide created a [[land bridge]] in the Columbia Gorge, known to natives as the [[Bridge of the Gods (geologic event)|Bridge of the Gods]]. The bridge was described as the result a battle between gods, represented by [[Mount Adams]] and [[Mount Hood]], vying for the affection of a goddess, represented by [[Mount St. Helens]]. The bridge permitted increased interaction and trade between tribes on the north and south sides of the river until it was finally washed away.
The [[Cascades Rapids]] of the Columbia River Gorge, and [[Kettle Falls, Washington#History|Kettle Falls]] and [[Priest Rapids]] in eastern Washington, were important fishing and trading sites submerged by the construction of dams. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, a coalition of various tribes, adopted a constitution and incorporated after the 1938 completion of the [[Bonneville Dam]] flooded Cascades Rapids.<ref name=OPB-ORstory>{{cite web
|title=The Oregon Story
|url=http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/tribal_econ/timeline.html
|publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting
|date=2001
|accessdate=2008-03-19}}</ref>
For 11,000 years, [[Celilo Falls]] was the most significant economic and cultural hub for native peoples on the Columbia. It was located east of the modern city of [[The Dalles]]. An estimated 15 to 20 million salmon passed through the falls every year, making it one of the greatest fishing sites in North America.<ref>{{cite news | last = Rohrbacher | first = George | title = Talk of the Past: The salmon fisheries of Celilo Falls | work = Common-Place | date = January 2006 | url=http://www.common-place.org/vol-06/no-02/talk/ | accessdate=2008-02-01}}</ref> The falls were strategically located at the border between [[Chinookan languages|Chinookan]] and [[Sahaptian]] speaking peoples and served as the center of an extensive trading network across the Pacific Plateau.<ref name="Ronda">{{cite book | last = Ronda | first = James P. | title=Lewis & Clark among the Indians | work=Down the Columbia | publisher=University of Nebraska Press | place=Lincoln, Nebraska | date = 1984 | isbn = 0803289901| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=cz4ts0fCDssC&dq=lewis+and+clark+among+the+indians&pg=PP1&ots=3LFdfB__E6&sig=tm5nsT7gAmpo-QrjGobU2Ffblhg&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?q=Lewis+and+Clark+among+the+Indians&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail | accessdate=2008-04-03}} URL is to the Google Book Search version.</ref> It was the oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent until 1957, when it was submerged by the construction of [[The Dalles Dam]] and the native fishing community was displaced.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dietrich | first = William | title = Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River | publisher = University of Washington Press | place = Seattle, WA | date = 1995 | page = 52 |isbn = 0295975466}}</ref> The affected tribes received a $26.8 million settlement for the loss of Celilo and other fishing sites submerged by the Dalles Dam.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dietrich | first = William | title = Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River | publisher = University of Washington Press | place = Seattle, WA | date = 1995 | page = 376 | isbn=0295975466}}</ref> The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs used part of its $4 million settlement to establish the [[Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino|Kah-Nee-Tah]] resort south of [[Mount Hood]].<ref name=OPB-ORstory/>
== New waves of explorers ==
{{seealso|History of Oregon|History of British Columbia|History of Washington|Oregon Country|History of the west coast of North America}}
[[Image:Cascade Columbia River.jpg|left|thumb|[[Multnomah Falls]], painted by James W. Alden, 1857]]
Some historians believe that Japanese or Chinese vessels blown off course reached the Northwest Coast long before Europeans, possibly as early as 219 B.C.<ref>"It is a near certainty that Japanese or Chinese people arrived on the northwest coast long before any European."{{cite book | author=Hayes | first=Derek | title=Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of Exploration and Discovery | place=Seattle, Washington | publisher=Sasquatch Books | year=1999 | page=9}}</ref> It is unknown whether they landed near the Columbia. There is some evidence that Spanish castaways reached the shore in 1679 and traded with the [[Clatsop]]; if these were indeed the first Europeans to see the Columbia, they never managed to send word home to Spain.<ref name=Hayes>{{cite book | author=Hayes | first=Derek | title=Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of Exploration and Discovery | place=Seattle, Washington | publisher=Sasquatch Books | year=1999}}</ref>
The first documented European discovery of the Columbia River was that of [[Bruno de Heceta]], who in 1775 sighted the river's mouth. On the advice of his officers, he did not explore it, as he was short-staffed and the current was strong. He considered it a bay, and called it ''Ensenada de Asunción''. Later Spanish maps based on his discovery showed a river, labeled ''Rio de San Roque'',<ref name=HistLinkGray/> or an entrance, called ''Entrada de Hezeta''.<ref name=Hayes/>
Following Heceta's reports, British [[fur trade]]r Captain [[John Meares]] searched for the river in 1788, but he misread the currents and concluded that the river did not exist. [[British Royal Navy]] commander [[George Vancouver]] sailed past the mouth in April 1792 and observed a change in the water's color, but he accepted Meares' report and continued on his journey northward.<ref name=HistLinkGray/> Later that month, Vancouver encountered the [[United States|American]] captain [[Robert Gray (sea-captain)|Robert Gray]] at the [[Strait of Juan de Fuca]]. Gray reported that he had seen the entrance to the Columbia and planned to sail into it.
On [[May 12]], [[1792]], Gray returned south and crossed the Columbia Bar, becoming [[Gray sails the Columbia River|the first explorer to enter the river]]. Gray's fur trading mission had been financed by [[Boston, Oregon|Boston]] merchants, who outfitted him with a private vessel named ''[[Columbia Rediviva]]''; he named the river after the ship on May 18.<ref name=Hayes> Gray spent nine days trading near the mouth of the Columbia, then left without having gone beyond {{convert|13|mi|km}} upstream.Gray's discovery of the Columbia was later used by the United States to support their claim to the [[Oregon Country]], which was also claimed by [[Russia]], [[United Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]], [[Spain]] and other nations.<ref name="WinOr">{{cite book
| last = Jacobs
| first = Melvin C.
| title = Winning Oregon: A Study of An Expansionist Movement
| publisher = The Caxton Printers, Ltd
| year = 1938
| page = 77 }}
</ref>
In October 1792, Vancouver sent [[Lieutenant]] [[William Robert Broughton]], his second-in-command, up the river. Broughton sailed up for some miles, and then his company continued in small boats. He got as far as the [[Columbia River Gorge]], about {{convert|100|mi|km}} upstream, sighting and naming [[Mount Hood]], as well as Point Vancouver, near the present-day city of [[Vancouver, Washington]]. Broughton formally claimed the river, its [[drainage basin|watershed]], and the nearby coast for [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] (which Gray had not done on hehalf of the [[United States]]).
[[Image:ColyerColumbia76.jpg|thumb|250px|Columbia River, Cascade Mountains, Oregon (1876) by [[Vincent Colyer]] (oil on canvas). [[Beacon Rock State Park|Beacon Rock]] is visible on the left.]]
[[Image:Lewis and Clark Columbia River.jpg|thumb|250px|Detail from the [[Lewis and Clark expedition]] map. The [[Willamette River]] is shown as the "Multnomah," while the Snake River is "Lewis's River." ([[:Image:Map of Lewis and Clark's Track, Across the Western Portion of North America, published 1814.jpg|See complete map.]])]]
Explorers had long speculated about the existence of a [[Northwest Passage]] or a great '''River of the West''' connecting the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the Pacific, and some mapmakers depicted it on their maps. As the Columbia was at the same latitude as the headwaters of the [[Missouri River]], they now concluded that Gray and Vancouver had discovered the Northwest Passage. A 1798 British map showed a dotted line connecting the Columbia with the Missouri.<ref name=Hayes/> However, when the American explorers [[Meriwether Lewis]] and [[William Clark]] charted the vast, unmapped lands of the [[American West]] in their [[Lewis and Clark expedition|overland expedition]] (1803-05), they found no passage between the rivers. After crossing the [[Rocky Mountains]], Lewis and Clark built dug-out canoes and paddled down the Snake River, reaching the Columbia at the confluence near the present-day [[Tri-Cities, Washington]]. They explored a few miles upstream as far as [[Bateman Island]] before heading down the Columbia, concluding their journey at the river's mouth and establishing [[Fort Clatsop]].<ref name=Hayes/>
[[Canadian]] explorer [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]], of the [[North West Company]], spent the winter of 1807–08 at [[Kootenae House]] near the source of the Columbia at present-day [[Invermere, British Columbia]]. In 1811, he traveled down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European-American to travel the entire length of the river, arriving just after [[John Jacob Astor]]'s [[Pacific Fur Company]] had founded Astoria.<ref name=Hayes/>
In 1825, on behalf of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]], Dr. [[John McLoughlin]] established [[Fort Vancouver]] (currently [[Vancouver, Washington]]) on the banks of the Columbia as a fur trading headquarters in the company's [[Columbia District]]. The fort was by far the largest European settlement in the northwest at the time. Every year ships would come from [[London]] (via the Pacific) to drop off supplies and trade goods in exchange for the furs. For many settlers the fort became the last stop on the [[Oregon Trail]] to buy supplies and land before starting their [[homestead]]. Because of its access to the Columbia River, Fort Vancouver’s influence reached from [[Alaska]] to [[California]] and from the Rocky Mountains to the [[Hawaiian Islands]].
The earliest French Canadian employees of the North West Company called the Columbia River ''Ouragan'' (translation: "hurricane"), which is one of several plausible origins of [[Oregon (toponym)|the name "Oregon"]].
The United States and [[British North America|Britain]] agreed in 1818 to settle the [[Oregon Country]] jointly. Americans generally settled south of the river, while British fur traders generally settled to the north. The Columbia was considered a possible border in the [[Oregon boundary dispute|boundary dispute]] that ensued, but ultimately the [[Oregon Treaty]] of 1846 established the boundary at the 49th parallel. The river later came to define most of the border between the U.S. territories of [[Oregon Territory|Oregon]] and [[Washington Territory|Washington]]. Oregon became a [[U.S. state]] in 1857, Washington in 1889.
By the turn of the 20th century, the difficulty of navigating the Columbia was seen as an impediment to the economic development of the [[Inland Empire (Pacific Northwest)|Inland Empire]] region east of the Cascades.<ref>{{cite news
|last=Reeder
|first=Lee B.
|title=Open the Columbia to the Sea
|date=
|work=
|publisher=Center for Columbia River History
|url=http://www.ccrh.org/comm/umatilla/primary/opensea.htm
|accessdate=2008-04-03}}URL is to a reprint of a 1902 magazine edition of the ''Pendleton Daily Tribune'' published by E.P. Dodd.</ref> The dredging and dam building that followed would permanently alter the river, disrupting its natural flow but also providing [[electricity]], [[irrigation]], [[navigability]] and other benefits to the region.
== Navigation ==
{{seealso|Steamboats of the Columbia River|Shipwrecks of the inland Columbia River}}
[[Image:USACE Astoria-Megler Bridge.jpg|thumb|The mouth of the Columbia is just past [[Astoria, Oregon]]; ships must navigate the treacherous [[Columbia Bar]] (near horizon, not visible in this picture) to enter or exit the river.]]
[[Image:Columbia Log Raft.jpg|thumb|A massive log raft headed downriver in 1902, containing an entire year's worth of logs from one timber camp.]]
[[Image:Essayons.JPG|thumb|The ''Essayons'', an Army Corps of Engineers dredge currently in use on the Columbia<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Hopper Dredges
| work =
| publisher = GlobalSecurity.org
| date = 2000–08
| url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/dredge-hopper.htm
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2008-04-03}}</ref>]]
American captain [[Robert Gray (sea-captain)|Robert Gray]] and British captain [[George Vancouver]], who explored the river in 1792, proved that it was possible to cross the [[Columbia Bar]]. But the challenges associated with that feat remain today; even with modern engineering alterations to the mouth of the river, the strong currents and shifting sandbar make it dangerous to pass between the river and the Pacific Ocean.
The use of [[steamboats]] along the river, beginning in 1850,<ref name=opbtimeline>{{cite news
|url=http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonstory/ports/timeline.html
|title=The Oregon Story: A Chronology of Ports in Oregon
|publisher=[[Oregon Public Broadcasting]]
|date=[[January 18]], [[2007]]
|accessdate=2008-02-15
}}</ref> contributed to the rapid settlement and economic development of the region.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Affleck
|first=Edward L.
|title=A Century of Paddlewheelers in the Pacific Northwest, the Yukon, and Alaska
|pages=page 6
|publisher=Alexander Nicholls Press
|location=Vancouver, BC
|year=2000
|isbn=0-920034-08-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|last=Corning
|first=Howard McKinley
|title=Willamette Landings (2nd Ed.)
|publisher=Oregon Historical Society
|location=Portland, Ore.
|year=1977
|isbn=0-87595-042-6
}}</ref> Steamboats operated in several places: on the river's lower reaches, from the Pacific Ocean to [[Cascades Rapids]], from the Cascades to Celilo Falls, and from Celilo to the confluence with the Snake River; [[Steamboats of Columbia River, Wenatchee Reach|on the Wenatchee Reach]] of eastern Washington; [[Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes|on British Columbia's Arrow Lakes]]; and [[Steamboats of the Willamette River|on tributaries like the Willamette]], the Snake and [[Kootenay Lake]]. The boats, initially powered by burning wood, carried both passengers and freight throughout the region for many years. Railroads served to connect steamboat lines where interrupted by waterfalls on the river's lower reaches.<ref name=timmen>{{cite book
|last=Timmen
|first=Fritz
|title=Blow for the Landing
|publisher=Caxton Printers
|location=Caldwell, Idaho
|year=1972
|isbn=0-87004-221-1}}</ref> In the 1880s, railroads maintained by companies such as the [[Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company]] and the [[Shaver Transportation Company]] began to supplement steamboat operations as the major transportation links along the river.<ref name=timmen/>
===Opening the passage to Lewiston===
As early as 1881, industrialists proposed altering the natural channel of the Columbia to improve navigation.<ref name=opbtimeline/> Changes to the river over the years have included the construction of [[jetty|jetties]] at the river's mouth, [[dredging]], and the construction of [[canal]]s and [[locks (water transport)|navigation locks]]. Today, ocean freighters can travel upriver as far as Portland and Vancouver, and barges can reach as far inland as [[Lewiston, Idaho]].<ref name=ccrh-hist/>
The [[Columbia Bar]], a shifting [[sandbar]] at the mouth of the river, makes passage between the river and the Pacific Ocean difficult and dangerous, and numerous rapids along the river hinder navigation. Jetties, first constructed in 1886,<ref name=opbtimeline/> extend the river's channel into the ocean. Strong currents and the shifting sandbar remain a threat to ships entering the river and necessitate continuous maintenance of the jetties.
In 1891 the Columbia was dredged to enhance shipping. The channel between the ocean and Portland and Vancouver was deepened from {{convert|17|ft|m}} to {{convert|25|ft|m|}} ''The Columbian'' newspaper called for the channel to be deepened to {{convert|40|ft|m|}} as early as 1905, but that depth was not attained until 1976.<ref>{{cite news
|title= Rewind--Editorials from our archives: 1905: {{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=on}} depth wanted
|publisher=The Columbian Publishing Co.
|date=[[December 26]], [[2005]]
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:VCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10ED220700908418&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73
|accessdate = 2008-04-03 }}</ref>
Navigation locks were first constructed in 1896 around the Cascades Rapids,<ref>''The Oregonian'', [[January 1]], [[1895]], p. 8</ref> enabling boats to travel safely through the Columbia River Gorge.<ref name=scott>{{cite book
|last=Scott
|first=Harvey W.
|authorlink=Harvey W. Scott
|coauthors=Leslie M. Scott
|year=1924
|title=History of the Oregon Country
|location=Cambridge
|publisher=Riverside Press
|url=http://worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/6608313
|pages=Vol. 3, p. 190
}}</ref> The [[Celilo Canal]], bypassing Celilo Falls, opened to river traffic in 1915.<ref>{{cite web
|title=The Dalles-Celilo Canal on Columbia River opens to traffic on May 5, 1915.
|url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5195
|publisher=HistoryLink.org
|accessdate=2007-11-26
}}</ref> In the mid-20th century, the construction of dams along the length of the river submerged the rapids beneath a series of reservoirs. An extensive system of locks allowed ships and barges to pass easily from one reservoir to the next. A navigation channel reaching to Lewiston, Idaho, along the Columbia and [[Snake River]]s, was completed in 1975.<ref name=opbtimeline/> One of the main commodities is wheat, mainly for export. More than 40 percent of all US wheat exports are barged on the Columbia River.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Supporting Columbia-Snake River Commerce
|url=http://www.nwriverpartners.org/pdf/economic_impact.pdf
|publisher=Northwest RiverPartners
|accessdate=2008-03-16}}</ref>
The [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]] caused mudslides in the area, which reduced the Columbia's depth by {{convert|25|ft|m|}} for a {{convert|4|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch, disrupting Portland's economy.<ref>Harris, Stephen L. (1988). ''Fire Mountains of the West: The Cascade and Mono Lake Volcanoes''. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula. page 209. ISBN 0-87842-220-X</ref>
===Deeper shipping channel===
Efforts to maintain and improve the navigation channel have continued to the present day. In 1990, a new round of studies examined the possibility of further dredging on the lower Columbia. The plans were controversial from the start because of economic and environmental concerns.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Cleanup study already bogged in controversy
|date=[[January 21]], [[1990]]
|work=The Oregonian
|author=Koberstein, Paul; Durbin, Kathie
|accessdate = 2008-04-03
|url=http://0-docs.newsbank.com.catalog.multcolib.org/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB085E4AD6C1C4B&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0}}</ref>
In 1999, Congress authorized deepening the channel between Portland and Astoria from {{convert|40|ft|m}} to {{convert|43|ft|m}}, which will make it possible for large container and grain ships to reach Portland and Vancouver.<ref name="ColDredge">{{cite news
|title=Dredging Columbia a very big job
|work=The Columbian
|date=[[March 7]][[2007]]
|first=Tom
|last=Koenninger
|accessdate=2008-04-03
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:VCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1186F15572256700&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73}}</ref>
The project includes measures to mitigate environmental damage; for instance, for every acre (4,000 m²) of wetland damaged by the project, the Corps must restore {{convert|12|acre|m2}} of wetland.<ref name="ColDredge"/> However, it has met opposition due to concerns about stirring up toxic sediment on the riverbed. Portland-based Northwest Environmental Advocates brought a lawsuit against the [[Army Corps of Engineers]], but it was rejected by the [[9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals]] in August 2006.<ref name="ColDredgeEdit">{{cite news
|last = ''Columbian'' editorial writers
|title= In our view - monitor the dredging
|work=The Columbian
|date=[[August 26]][[2006]]
|accessdate = 2008-04-03
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:VCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=113D35E697366DB8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73}}</ref> In early 2006, the Corps spilled {{convert|50|USgal|L|lk=out}} of hydraulic oil into the Columbia, drawing further criticism from environmental organizations.<ref>{{cite news
|title= State rebukes Corps of Engineers over oil spill
|work=The Columbian
|date=[[March 3]][[2006]]
|first=Erik
|last=Robinson
|accessdate = 2008-04-03
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:VCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11037F0A55E30ED0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73}}</ref>
Work on the project began in 2005 and is expected to conclude in 2010. The project's cost is estimated at $150 million. The federal government is paying 65 percent, Oregon and Washington are paying $27 million each, and six local ports make payments as well.<ref name="ColDredge"/><ref>{{cite news
|title= Bush budget offers $15 million for dredging
|date=[[February 8]][[2006]]
|work=The Columbian
|accessdate = 2008-04-03
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:VCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10FB4E00C7601B78&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73}}</ref>
== Dams: harnessing the river ==
[[Image:John Day Dam fish ladder.jpg|200px|thumb|Fish ladder at [[John Day Dam]]. This dam, frequently referred to as the "fish killer", and its reservoir form the deadliest stretch of the river for young salmon.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Wild salmon 1: Species declining fast
|date=[[June 10]], [[1991]]
|work=Morning Edition
|publisher=National Public Radio
|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NR&d_origin=transcripts&z=NR&p_theme=nr&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F5838611A667F43&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
|accessdate=2008-03-20
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title= The Modern Day Columbia River – Part Two: Still Waters Run Deep And Deadly For Columbia River Salmon
|first=Anna
|last=King
|date=[[October 2]], [[2007]]
|publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting
|url=http://news.opb.org/article/still-water-runs-deep-and-deadly-columbia-river-salmon/
|accessdate=2008-03-20
}}</ref>]]
[[Image:ColumbiaRiverRowenaView.jpg|200px|thumb|Dams on the Columbia have transformed the river into a series of slackwater pools, such as this one between [[Bonneville Dam|Bonneville]] and [[The Dalles Dam|The Dalles]], as seen from [[Rowena, Oregon|Rowena Crest.]]]]
{{Quote box
| width=200px
| align=right
| quote=This river may have been shaped by God, or glaciers, or the remnants of the inland sea, or gravity or a combination of all, but the Army Corps of Engineers controls it now. The Columbia rises and falls, not by the dictates of tide or rainfall, but by a computer-activated, legally-arbitrated, federally-allocated schedule that changes only when significant litigation is concluded, or a United States Senator nears election time. In that sense, it is reliable.<br />
|source=Timothy Egan, in ''The Good Rain''<ref>{{cite book
|last=Egan
|first=Timothy
|title=The Good Rain
|publisher=Knopf
|id=ISBN 0394577248
|date=1990}}</ref>}}
{{seealso|Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River|Columbia River Treaty}}
In 1902, the [[United States Bureau of Reclamation]] was established to aid in the [[economic development]] of arid [[Western United States|western states]].<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = Bureau of Reclamation - About Us
| work =
| publisher = U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
| date = 2008
| url = http://www.usbr.gov/main/about/
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate =2008-04-03 }}</ref> One of its major undertakings was building [[Grand Coulee Dam]] to provide irrigation for the {{convert|600000|acre|km2}} of the [[Columbia Basin Project]] in central Washington. With the onset of [[World War II]], the focus of dam construction shifted to production of [[hydroelectricity]]. Irrigation efforts resumed after the war.
River development occurred within the structure of the 1909 [[International Boundary Waters Treaty]] between the U.S. and Canada. In the 1960s, the United States and Canada signed the [[Columbia River Treaty]]. Canada agreed to build dams and provide reservoir storage, and the U.S. agreed to deliver to Canada one-half of the increase in U.S. downstream power benefits as estimated five years in advance. Canada's obligation was met by building three dams (two on the Columbia, and one on the [[Duncan River]]), the last of which was completed in 1973.
Today, the main stem of the Columbia River has 14 dams (3 in Canada, 11 in the U.S.) Four mainstem dams and four lower Snake River dams contain [[Lock (water transport)|navigation locks]] to allow ship and barge passage from the ocean as far as [[Lewiston, Idaho]]. The river system as a whole has over 400 dams for hydroelectricity and irrigation.<ref name=ccrh-hist/> The dams address a variety of demands, including [[Flood#Flood defences, planning, and management|flood control]], navigation, stream flow regulation, storage and delivery of stored waters, [[reclamation]] of public lands and Indian reservations, and the generation of hydroelectric power.<ref name=Pitzer>{{cite book
|first=Paul
|last=Pitzer
|title=Grand Coulee: Harnessing a Dream
|location=Pullman, Washington
|publisher=Washington State University Press
|date=1994
|isbn=978-0874221107
}}</ref>
The larger U.S. dams are owned and operated by the federal government (some by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] and some by the Bureau of Reclamation), while the smaller dams are operated by [[public utility district]]s, and private power companies. The federally operated system is known as the [[Federal Columbia River Power System]], which includes 31 dams on the Columbia and its tributaries. The system has altered the seasonal flow of the river in order to meet higher electricity demands during the winter. At the beginning of the 20th century, roughly 75 percent of the Columbia's flow occurred in the summer, between April and September. By 1980, the summer proportion had been lowered to about 50 percent, essentially eliminating the seasonal pattern.<ref>{{cite book |last = National Research Council (U.S.) |title= Managing The Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals, and Salmon Survival |year= 2004 |publisher= National Academies Press |isbn= 0309091551 |pages= 4, 22 |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=uXF5b6syTQ8C |accessdate = 2008-04-03 }} URL is to the [[Google Book Search]] version.</ref>
The installation of dams dramatically altered the landscape and ecosystem of the river. At one time, the Columbia was one of the top [[salmon]]-producing river systems in the world.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Sacred and shared - clergy work to save Columbia River
|work=Christian Century
|date=2000-07-19
|first=John
|last=Rosenberg
|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_21_117/ai_63904088
|accessdate=2007-11-27}}</ref> Previously active fishing sites, most notably [[Celilo Falls]] in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, have exhibited a sharp decline in fishing along the Columbia in the last century, and salmon populations have been dramatically reduced. [[Fish ladder]]s have been installed at some dam sites to help the fish journey to spawning waters. [[Chief Joseph Dam]] has no fish ladders and completely blocks fish migration to the upper half of the Columbia River system.
=== Irrigation ===
The Bureau of Reclamation's [[Columbia Basin Project]] focused on the generally dry [[Columbia River Basin]], which features rich [[loess]] soil deposited by the Missoula Floods. Several groups developed competing proposals, and in 1933, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] authorized the [[Columbia Basin Project]]. The [[Grand Coulee Dam]] was the project's central component; upon completion, it pumped water up from the Columbia to fill the formerly dry [[Grand Coulee]], forming [[Banks Lake]]. By 1935, the intended height of the dam was increased from a range between {{convert|200|ft|m}} and {{convert|300|ft|m|}} to {{convert|500|ft|m|}}, a height that would extend the lake impounded by the dam all the way to the Canadian border; the project had grown from a local [[New Deal]] relief measure to a major national project.<ref name=Pitzer/>
The project's initial purpose was [[irrigation]], but the onset of [[World War II]] created a high demand for electricity, mainly for [[aluminum]] production and for the development of [[nuclear weapon]]s at the [[Hanford Site]]. (See next section.) Irrigation began in 1951.<ref name="USNPS">{{cite book
|title = Lake Roosevelt, Administrative History
|publisher = U.S. National Park Service: Department of the Interior
|url = http://web.archive.org/web/20070716185155/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/laro/adhi/adhit.htm
|chapter=Chapter 2
|accessdate = 2006-11-20}}</ref> The project provides water to more than {{convert|500000|acre|km2}} of fertile but arid lands in central Washington State. Water from the project has transformed the region from a wasteland barely able to produce subsistence levels of dry-land wheat crops to a major agricultural center. Important crops include [[Apple (fruit)|apples]], [[potato]]es, [[alfalfa]], [[wheat]], [[maize|corn]] (maize), [[barley]], [[hops]], [[bean]]s, and [[sugar beet]]s.
Since 1750, the Columbia has experienced six multi-year droughts, much more severe than any in recent memory. The longest, in the mid-1800s, lasted 12 years, with the river's flow dropping 20 percent below average. Scientists have expressed concern over what such a drought could do to the today's regional economy, with its heavy reliance on the Columbia.<ref name=UWdrought>{{cite web
|title=Tree-ring data reveals multiyear droughts unlike any in recent memory
|date=[[2005-02-14]]
|first=Sandra
|last=Hines
|coauthors= Sands, Yasmeen; Hunt, Lori Bona
|publisher=University of Washington Office of News and Information
|url=http://www.uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=8220
|accessdate=2008-01-26
}}</ref> In 1992–93, a lesser drought impacted farmers, hydroelectric power producers, shippers, and wildlife managers.<ref name=UWdrought/>
Many farmers in central Washington build dams on their property for irrigation and to control frost on their crops. The Washington Department of Ecology, using new techniques involving aerial photographs, estimated there may be as many as 100 such dams in the area, most of which are illegal. Six such dams have failed in recent years, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to crops and public roads. 14 farms in the area have gone through the permitting process to build such dams legally.<ref>{{cite news
|title=State cracking down on illegal frost-control dams
|first=Michelle
|last=McNiel
|date=[[March 21]], [[2008]]
|publisher=Wenatchee ''World''
|url=http://wenatcheeworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080321/NEWS04/384099125/1001
|accessdate=2008-03-28
}}</ref>
=== Hydroelectricity ===
[[Image:Woody Guthrie NYWTS.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Roll on, Columbia, roll on, roll on, Columbia, roll on / Your power is turning our darkness to dawn / Roll on, Columbia, roll on.''
Lyrics from [[Roll on Columbia]], written by [[Woody Guthrie]] under commission of the [[Bonneville Power Administration]]
[[Image:Woody Guthrie, Roll On Columbia.ogg|180px|noicon]][[:Image:Woody Guthrie, Roll On Columbia.ogg|song info]] / [[Wikipedia:Media help|audio help]]]]
The Columbia's heavy flow and extreme elevation drop over a short distance, {{River drop|2.16}}, give it tremendous capacity for [[hydroelectricity]] generation. In comparison, the Mississippi drops less than {{river drop|0.65}}. The Columbia alone possesses a third of the United States's hydroelectric potential.<ref>{{cite book |last= Harden |first= Blaine |title= A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia |year= 1996 |publisher= W.W. Norton & Company |isbn= 0-393-03936-6 |pages= p. 17}}</ref>
The largest of the 150 hydroelectric projects, the [[Grand Coulee Dam]] and the [[Chief Joseph Dam]], are also the largest in the United States<ref>{{cite web | title = Renewable Energy Sources: A Consumer's Guide | publisher = U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Information Administration |date = 2004 | url = http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/renew05/renewable.html | accessdate = 2007-11-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Chief Joseph Dam | publisher = U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |date = August 2007 | url = http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/brochure/renew05/renewable.html | accessdate = 2008-04-03}}</ref> and among the [[List of the largest hydoelectric power stations|largest in the world]].<ref>{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title = World's Largest Hydroelectric Plants
| work =
| publisher = Pearson Education (Infoplease)
| date = 2000–08
| url = http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001336.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate = 2008-04-01}}</ref>
Inexpensive hydro-power supported the emergence of an extensive [[aluminum]] industry, which draws tremendous amounts of power. Until 2000, the [[Northwestern United States]] produced up to 40 percent of the aluminum produced in the U.S., and 17 percent of the world's aluminum.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Aluminum industry powering down
|last=Kinsey Hill
|first=Gail
|date=[[March 11]], [[2001]]
|work=The Oregonian
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:ORGB:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB7C4BAB8D994F0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F4627A8B371FF3F
|accessdate=2007-12-07
}}</ref> But the commoditization of power in the early 2000s, coupled with drought that reduced the generation capacity of the river, damaged the industry; by 2003, the U.S. produced only 15 percent of the world's aluminum, many smelters among the Columbia having gone dormant or having gone out of business.<ref>{{cite news
|first=Gretchen
|last=Fehrenbacher
|title=Aluminum all but gone
|date=2003-02-23
|work=The Columbian}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
|title=BPA chief to detail strategy for troubled power broker
|first=William
|last=McCall
|date=[[November 22]], [[2002]]
|work=The Columbian
|accessdate = 2008-04-04
|url=http://0-docs.newsbank.com.catalog.multcolib.org/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:VCBB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F77B5D714ACE3ED&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0}}</ref>
Power remains relatively inexpensive along the Columbia, and in recent years high-tech companies like [[Google]] have begun to move [[server farm]] operations into the area to avail themselves of cheap power.<ref name=fortune>{{cite news
|title=Behold the server farm! Glorious temple of the information age!
|work=Fortune
|date=[[August 7]][[2006]]
|last=Mehta
|first=Stephanie N.
|accessdate = 2008-04-04
|url=http://0-docs.newsbank.com.catalog.multcolib.org/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AMNP:FRTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11313D3ACDF39050&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
}}</ref>
Downriver of Grand Coulee, each dam’s reservoir is closely regulated by the [[Bonneville Power Administration]] (BPA), Army Corps of Engineers, and various Washington Public Utility Districts to ensure flow, flood control, and power generation objectives are met. Increasingly, hydro-power operations are required to meet standards under the U.S. [[Endangered Species Act]] and other agreements to manage operations to minimize impacts on salmon and other fish, and some conservation and fishing groups support removing four dams on the lower [[Snake River]], the largest tributary of the Columbia.<ref name = "uqlpwq">{{cite news
|first=Michael
|last=Milstein
|title=Judge rips latest plan to help salmon
|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1197345328250200.xml&coll=7
|date=[[2007-12-11]]
|accessdate=2008-01-03
|publisher=The Oregonian}}</ref>
In 1941, the BPA hired [[Oklahoma]] folksinger [[Woody Guthrie]] to write songs for a documentary film promoting the benefits of hydropower. In the month he spent traveling the region Guthrie wrote 26 songs, which have become an important part of the cultural history of the region.<ref>{{cite news
|title= Rolling along the Columbia, driving for Woody Guthrie
|date=[[July 8]][[2007]]
|first=Spencer
|last=Heinz
|work=The Oregonian
|accessdate= 2008-04-04
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11A482D41E55CAF8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title=This Land Is Whose Land? Times and priorities change. Woody Guthrie hailed Lewis and Clark for finding a place to build dams. Today his tune might be different
|work=Time
|date=[[July 8]][[2002]]
|first=Lance
|last=Morrow
|accessdate= 2008-04-04
|url=http://0-docs.newsbank.com.catalog.multcolib.org/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AMNP:TMGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10E7719111FFBA20&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0 }}</ref>
{{clear}}
== Ecology and environment ==
===Fish migration===
{{seealso|Environmental impacts of dams}}
[[Image:Dead salmon in spawning season.jpg|thumb|In their natural life cycle, salmon die shortly after spawning. [[Eagle Creek (Multnomah County, Oregon)|Eagle Creek]] in Oregon, November 2007.]]
The Columbia supports several species of [[anadromous]] fish that migrate between the Pacific Ocean and fresh water tributaries of the river. [[Coho salmon|Coho]] and [[Chinook salmon|Chinook (a.k.a King)]] salmon and [[Steelhead]], all of the genus [[Oncorhynchus]], are ocean fish that migrate up the rivers at the end of their life cycles to spawn. [[White sturgeon]], which take 25 years to grow to full size, typically migrate between the ocean and the upstream habitat several times during their lives.
Dams interrupt the migration of anadromous fish. Salmon and steelhead return to the streams in which they were born to spawn; where dams prevent their return, entire populations of salmon die. Some of the Columbia and Snake River dams employ [[fish ladder]]s, which are effective to varying degrees at allowing these fish to travel upstream. Another problem exists for the juvenile salmon headed downstream to the ocean. Previously, this journey would have taken two to three weeks. With river currents slowed by the dams, and the Columbia converted from wild river to a series of slackwater pools, the journey can take several months, which increases the mortality rate.<ref>{{cite book | last=Mueller | first=Ted | title=Fire, Faults, and Floods: A Road and Trail Guide Exploring the Origins of the Columbia River Basin | publisher=University of Idaho Press | location=Moscow, Idaho | date=1997 | page=229 | isbn = 9780893012069}}</ref> In some cases, the Army Corps of Engineers transports juvenile fish downstream by truck or river barge. The [[Grand Coulee Dam]] and several dams on the Columbia's tributaries entirely block migration, and there are no migrating fish on the river above these dams. Sturgeon have different migration habits and can survive without ever visiting the ocean. In many upstream areas cut off from the ocean by dams, sturgeon simply live upstream of the dam.
In 1994, the salmon catch was smaller than usual in the rivers of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, causing concern among commercial fishermen, government agencies, and tribal leaders.<ref>{{cite news
|first=John
|last=Balzar
|title=As Wild Salmon Fade, Northwest Losing a Symbol
|work=Los Angeles Times
|date=[[April 2]], [[1994]]
|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59341587.html?dids=59341587:59341587&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+02%2C+1994&author=JOHN+BALZAR&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=As+Wild+Salmon+Fade%2C+Northwest+Losing+a+Symbol&pqatl=google
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title=Mystery of Vanishing Salmon Puzzles Canadians; Commercial Fishermen, Indian Groups and Officials Dispute Who's to Blame for Drop in Harvest
|work=The Washington Post
|date=[[December 31]], [[1994]]
|author=Anne Swardson
|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-926213.html
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref> U.S. government intervention, to which the states of Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon objected, included an 11-day closure of an Alaska fishery.<ref>{{cite news
|title= Lawsuit targets fishery closure: Alaska seeks to reverse policy on Snake River king salmon run
|first=Marilee
|last=Enge
|date=[[March 3]], [[1994]]
|publication=Anchorage Daily News
|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AS&p_theme=as&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F78EC32E9B37EDB&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref> In April 1994 the [[Pacific Fisheries Management Council]] unanimously approved the strictest regulations in 18 years, banning all commercial salmon fishing for that year from [[Cape Falcon]] north to the Canadian border.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Strict Fishing Limits Are Passed To Protect Salmon in Northwest
|date=[[April 10]], [[1994]]
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01EEDD153EF933A25757C0A962958260
|work=The New York Times
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref><ref name=OPB-ORstory/> In the winter of 1994, the return of [[coho salmon]] far exceeded expectations, which was attributed in part to the fishing ban.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Massive coho return surprises fisheries
|work=The News Tribune
|date=[[December 28]], [[1994]]
|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=TNTB&d_place=TNTB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F0FBF58EE18B3C4&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref>
Also in 1994, [[United States Secretary of the Interior]] [[Bruce Babbitt]] first proposed the removal of several Pacific Northwest dams because of their impact on salmon spawning.<ref>{{cite news
|title= Are West's Dams Set in Stone? Bruce Babbitt dreams of razing some of them to transform rivers and the Interior Department. But businesses dependent on cheap water and power fear the added expense and predict job losses.
|work=Los Angeles Times
|first=Melissa
|last=Healy
|date=[[March 31]], [[1994]]
|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/59340985.html?dids=59340985:59340985&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+31%2C+1994&author=MELISSA+HEALY&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=COLUMN+ONE+Are+West's+Dams+Set+in+Stone%3F+Bruce+Babbitt+dreams+of+razing+some+of+them+to+transform+rivers+and+the+Interior+Department.+But+businesses+dependent+on+cheap+water+and+power+fear+the+added+expense+and+predict+job+losses.&pqatl=google
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref> The [[Northwest Power Planning Council]] approved a plan that provided more water for fish and less for electricity, irrigation, and transportation.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Plan to Save Salmon Roils Northwest ; Change Seen Causing Ripples in Economy
|work=The Washington Post
|date=[[December 15]], [[1994]]
|first=Tom
|last=Kenworthy
|accessdate = 2008-04-04
|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-923849.html
}}</ref> Environmental advocates have called for the removal of certain dams in the Columbia system in the years since. Of the 227 major dams in the Columbia River Basin, the four Washington dams on the lower [[Snake River]] are often identified for removal,<ref>{{cite news
|title=Pressure builds on Snake River dams
|first=Erik
|last=Robinson
|work=The Columbian
|accessdate = 2008-04-04
|url=http://www.bluefish.org/pressure.htm
|date=[[April 15]], [[2007]]
}}</ref> notably in an ongoing lawsuit concerning a [[Bush administration]] plan for salmon recovery.<ref name = "uqlpwq"/> These dams and reservoirs currently limit the recovery of upriver salmon runs to [[Idaho]]'s [[Salmon River (Idaho)|Salmon]] and [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater]] rivers.<ref>{{cite news
|title= Oregon's delicate balance
|date=[[September 11]][[2006]]
|first=Bill
|last=Monroe
|work=The Oregonian
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=1141F69DBAE38FC0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref> Historically, the Snake produced over 1.5 million spring and summer [[Chinook Salmon]], a number that has dwindled to several thousand in recent years.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Court finds feds no help to fish
|first=Michael
|last=Milstein
|work=The Oregonian
|date=[[April 10]][[2007]]
|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11872CFDC817FDB0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=8CE642B8CA5C4083BE84A2539D6E1A73
|accessdate=2008-03-19
}}</ref> [[Idaho Power Company]]'s [[Hells Canyon]] dams have no fish ladders (and do not pass juvenile salmon downstream), and thus allow no steelhead or salmon to migrate above Hells Canyon. In 2007, the destruction of the [[Bull Run Hydroelectric Project|Marmot Dam]] on the [[Sandy River (Oregon)|Sandy River]] was the first dam removal in the system.<ref>{{cite news
|title=A river released to the wild
|work=The Oregonian
|url=http://0-docs.newsbank.com.catalog.multcolib.org/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:ORGB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11ABC3E11630C940&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0D10F2CADB4B24C0
|date=[[July 29]][[2007]]|accessdate = 2008-04-04}}</ref> There are plans to remove the [[Condit Hydroelectric Project|Condit Dam]] on Washington's [[White Salmon River]], and the [[Milltown Dam]] on the [[Clark Fork (river)|Clark Fork]] in [[Montana]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Clark Fork to Flow Free This Month
|date=[[March 14]], [[2008]]
|first=Kevin
|last=Colburn
|publisher=AmericanWhitewater.org
|url=http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article_view_display_full_id_29971_
|accessdate=2008-03-28
}}</ref>
===Pollution===
In southeastern Washington, a {{convert|50|mi|km|adj=on}} stretch of the river passes through the [[Hanford Site]], established in 1943 as part of the [[Manhattan Project]]. The site served as a [[plutonium]] production complex, with nine [[nuclear reactor]]s and related facilities located on the banks of the river. From 1944 to 1971, pump systems drew cooling water from the river and, after treating this water for use by the reactors, returned it to the river. Before being released back into the river, the used water was held in large tanks known as retention basins for up to six hours. Longer-lived [[isotope]]s were not affected by this retention, and several [[becquerel|terabecquerels]] entered the river every day. By 1957, the eight plutonium production reactors at Hanford dumped a daily average of 50,000 [[curie]]s of radioactive material into the Columbia.<ref>{{cite web | last = Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility | title = Hanford History | date = 2007–08| url = http://www.wpsr.org/history/ | accessdate = 2008-04-04}}</ref> These releases were kept secret by the federal government until the release of declassified documents in the late 1980s.<ref name="HHIN">{{cite web | last = Hanford Health Information Network |date = 2000 | title = An Overview of Hanford and Radiation Health Effects | url = http://www.doh.wa.gov/hanford/publications/overview/overview.html | accessdate = 2007-01-29}}</ref> Radiation was measured downstream as far west as the Washington and [[Oregon]] coasts.<ref>{{cite news | title = Radiation Flowed 200 Miles to Sea, Study Finds | work = The New York Times | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0D8173FF934A25754C0A964958260 | date = [[July 17]], [[1992]] | accessdate = 2007-01-29}}</ref>
[[Image:Hanford N Reactor adjusted.jpg|thumb|left|Nuclear reactors at the [[Hanford site]] along the river]]
The nuclear reactors were decommissioned at the end of the [[Cold War]], and the Hanford site is now the focus of the world’s largest [[Environmental remediation|environmental cleanup]], managed by the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] under the oversight of the [[Washington Department of Ecology]] and the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]].<ref >{{cite web | last = U.S. Department of Energy | authorlink = United States Department of Energy | title = Hanford Site: Hanford Overview | date = 2008 | url=http://www.hanford.gov/?page=215 | accessdate = 2007-01-29}}</ref> Nearby aquifers contain an estimated 270 billion US gallons (1 billion m³) of groundwater contaminated by [[high-level]] [[nuclear waste]] that has leaked out of Hanford's massive underground storage tanks.<ref name="fissiontrip">{{cite news
|last=Wolman
|first=David
|title=Fission Trip
|work=Wired Magazine
|date=April 2007
|page=78}}</ref> As of 2008, 1 million US gallons (3,785 m³) of highly radioactive waste is traveling through groundwater toward the Columbia River. This waste is expected to reach the river in 12 to 50 years if cleanup does not proceed on schedule.<ref>{{cite web | last = Washington Department of Ecology | authorlink = Washington Department of Ecology | title = Hanford Quick Facts | url = http://www.ecy.wa.gov/features/hanford/hanfordfacts.html | accessdate = 2007-01-29}}</ref>
In addition to concerns about nuclear waste, numerous other pollutants are found in the river. These include chemical pesticides, bacteria, arsenic, dioxins, and [[polychlorinated biphenyl]] (PCB).<ref name=swainswim>{{cite news
|title=Activist plans an epic swim
|first=Ben
|last=Jacklet
|work=The Portland Tribune
|date=[[July 24]][[2001]]
}}</ref>
Studies have also found significant levels of toxins in fish and the waters they inhabit within the basin. Accumulation of toxins in fish threatens the survival of fish species, and human consumption of these fish can lead to health problems. Water quality is also an important factor in the survival of other wildlife and plants that grow in the Columbia River Basin. The states, Indian tribes, and federal government are all engaged in efforts to restore and improve the water, land, and air quality of the Columbia River Basin and have committed to work together to enhance and accomplish critical ecosystem restoration efforts. A number of cleanup efforts are currently underway, including [[Superfund]] projects at Portland Harbor, Hanford, and [[Lake Roosevelt]].<ref>{{cite web | last = U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | title = Columbia River Basin: A National Priority | date = 2008| url = http://www.epa.gov/region10/columbia EPA report on the Columbia | accessdate = 2008-04-04}}</ref>
Timber harvesting further contaminates river water; the [[Northwest Forest Plan]], a piece of federal legislation from 1994, mandated that timber companies consider the environmental impacts of their practices on rivers like the Columbia.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Bush Change to NW Forest Plan Would Ease Logging
|first=J.R.
|last=Pegg
|date=[[November 26]][[2002]]
|work=Environment News Service
|url=http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/nov2002/2002-11-26-10.asp
|accessdate=2008-04-01
}}</ref>
On [[July 1]] [[2003]], Christopher Swain of Portland, Oregon, became the first person to swim the Columbia River's entire length, in an effort to raise public awareness about the river's environmental health.<ref name=wwswain>{{cite news
|title=Swimming to astoria
|first=Patty
|last=Wentz
|date=[[May 29]], [[2002]]
|work=Willamette Week
|url=http://wweek.com/editorial/2830/2817/
|accessdate=2007-11-22
}}</ref><ref name=swainswim/><ref>{{cite news
|title=Challenge sets off global ripples
|first=Jennifer
|last=Anderson
|url=http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=25157
|work=The Portland Tribune
|date=[[July 9]] [[2004]]
|accessdate=2007-06-07}}</ref>
== Major tributaries ==
{{ImageStackRight|200|
[[Image:Columbia River Revelstoke.jpg|thumb|Columbia River near [[Revelstoke, British Columbia]]]]
[[Image:Vistahouse.jpg|thumb|[[Crown Point (Oregon)|Crown Point Vista House]], with [[Beacon Rock State Park|Beacon Rock and Hamilton Mountain]] visible in the background]]
[[Image:ColumbiaRiverPIC.jpg|thumb|right|The Columbia River, as it forms the border between Washington and Oregon.]]
}}
{{main|Tributaries of the Columbia River}}
[[Image:Columbiawdams.png|thumb|left|340px|Columbia River watershed, showing major dams and tributaries]]
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan=2|[[Tributary]]
!colspan=2| Average<br />discharge:<br />
|-
![[cubic feet per second|cu ft/s]]
![[cubic meters per second|m³/s]]
|-
|[[Snake River]]
|align=right| 56,900
|align=right| 1,611
|-
|[[Willamette River]]
|align=right| 35,660
|align=right| 1,010
|-
|[[Kootenay River]] (Kootenai)
|align=right| 30,650
|align=right| 867
|-
|[[Pend Oreille River]]
|align=right| 27,820
|align=right| 788
|-
|[[Cowlitz River]]
|align=right| 9,200
|align=right| 261
|-
|[[Spokane River]]
|align=right| 6,700
|align=right| 190
|-
|[[Deschutes River (Oregon)|Deschutes River]]
|align=right| 6,000
|align=right| 170
|-
|[[Lewis River (Washington)|Lewis River]]
|align=right| 4,800
|align=right| 136
|-
|[[Yakima River]]
|align=right| 3,540
|align=right| 100
|-
|[[Wenatchee River]]
|align=right| 3,220
|align=right| 91
|-
|[[Okanogan River]]
|align=right| 3,050
|align=right| 86
|-
|[[Kettle River (Washington)|Kettle River]]
|align=right| 2,930
|align=right| 83
|-
|[[Sandy River (Oregon)|Sandy River]]
|align=right| 2,260
|align=right| 64
|}
{{clear}}
==See also==
{{commons|Columbia River}}
* [[Columbia Mountains]]
* [[Historic Columbia River Highway]], a scenic highway on the Oregon side
* [[Columbia River Maritime Museum]] in Astoria, Oregon
* [[Empire Builder]], an Amtrak rail line that follows the river from Portland to Pasco, Washington
* [[Gray sails the Columbia River]], an account of Captain Gray's entry into the river's mouth
* [[Okanagan Trail]], a historic trail that followed the Columbia and Okanagan rivers
* [[List of Washington rivers]]
* [[List of Oregon rivers]]
* [[List of British Columbia rivers]]
==References==
{{reflist|3}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book|last=MacGibbon |first=Elma |title=Leaves of knowledge |publisher=Shaw & Borden |year=1904 |url=http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications%5Fdetail.aspx?p=63 |format=DJVU |series= Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection |chapter=Columbia River and Pullman}}
==External links==
*[http://www.critfc.org Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission]
*[http://columbiariverwatertrail.gotoes.org/index.pl Columbia River Water Trail] A collaboratively edited site with information for people who wish to travel the Columbia River by kayak or canoe.
*[http://www.epa.gov/region10/columbia US Environmental Protection Agency Columbia River Basin]
*[http://www.ppl.nl/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=82 Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law] Peace Palace Library
*[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/earthpulse/columbia/index_flash.html ''National Geographic'' on the Columbia]
*[http://www.bchydro.com/info/system/system15276.html BC Hydro Generation System Information]
*[http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/forest/ Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area]
*[http://www.ccalmr.ogi.edu/CORIE/ CORIE, a Columbia River observation and prediction system]
*[http://content.lib.washington.edu/tollcanweb/index.html University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Tollman and Canaris Photographs] Photographs document the salmon fishing industry on the southern Washington coast and in the lower Columbia River around the year 1897 and offer valuable insights into the history of commercial salmon fishing and the techniques used at the beginning of the 20th century.
*[http://www.columbiariverfishingguides.org Columbia River Fishing Guides Association]
*[http://www.iinet.com/~englishriver/LewisClarkColumbiaRiver/Regions/Places/columbia_river.html Timeline of exploration of the Columbia], dating back to the 17th century.
{{Columbia River}}
[[Category:Columbia River| ]]
[[Category:Columbia River Gorge| ]]
[[Category:Rivers of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Rivers of Oregon]]
[[Category:Rivers of Washington]]
{{link FA|vi}}
[[be:Рака Калумбія]]
[[bg:Колумбия (река)]]
[[ca:Riu Columbia]]
[[cs:Columbia (řeka)]]
[[de:Columbia River]]
[[es:Río Columbia]]
[[eo:Kolumbio (rivero)]]
[[eu:Columbia ibaia]]
[[fa:رودخانه کلمبیا]]
[[fr:Columbia (fleuve)]]
[[gl:Río Columbia]]
[[it:Columbia (fiume)]]
[[he:קולומביה (נהר)]]
[[la:Columbia (flumen)]]
[[lt:Kolumbija (upė)]]
[[mr:कोलंबिया नदी]]
[[nl:Columbia (rivier)]]
[[ja:コロンビア川]]
[[no:Columbia River]]
[[pl:Kolumbia (rzeka)]]
[[pt:Rio Columbia]]
[[ro:Columbia (fluviu)]]
[[ru:Колумбия (река)]]
[[simple:Columbia River]]
[[sk:Columbia (rieka)]]
[[sl:Kolumbija (reka)]]
[[fi:Columbia (joki)]]
[[sv:Columbiafloden]]
[[vi:Sông Columbia]]
[[zh:哥倫比亞河]]